1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an expression editor for mathematics and, more particularly, to a computer software program used to create and edit mathematical formulas. Using the editor, the keyboard and mouse can be used to perform actions that build and traverse mathematical structures that have been built either for the purpose of displaying mathematics in a document or performing a scientific computation.
2. Background Description
Many existing expression editors assume that the main intent of using the editor is to create mathematical formulas for presentation, achieving an optimum layout, positioning and relative sizing of the constituent elements so as to assure a display of the finest quality on the printed page. Such presentation-based editors typically allow the construction of mathematically meaningless expressions and represent mathematics in a form unsuitable for direct interpretation by a computational mathematics program.
Other expression editors create mathematical formulas for content; that is, the editors are designed to create only expressions that are mathematically meaningful for computation using a computational mathematics program associated with the editor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an expression editor with a simple and intuitive interface that can be used to edit mathematical expressions created either for presentation or content. The present invention is distinguished by three interrelated sub-components:
1. a hierarchy of mathematical objects that relate to either or both the graphical rendering of the mathematics on the printed page, and the interpretation of formulas by a computational system;
2. WYSIWYG (xe2x80x9cwhat-you-see-is-what-you-getxe2x80x9d) editing of mathematics by use of a single visual cue: a highlighted sub-expression; and
3. correlating these mathematical objects and single visual cue with keyboard actions for purposes of insertion, deletion, and navigation.